How much trouble would you go through to make a $50 sale?
Summary: inhawaii expressed frustration about a potential buyer requesting detailed measurements and photos for shirts that are already packed. Several participants discussed the common issue of buyers making such requests without following through with a purchase. Some advised that including this information in the listing could prevent future inconveniences. Others debated the necessity of catering to such requests, citing varying experiences and opinions about customer expectations. Additionally, there was a discussion on sizing issues in clothing, with differing views on the necessity of measurements and considerations of customer satisfaction and return rates.
A potential buyer just messaged me inquiring about not one, but two shirts I have for listed.
He is asking for...
Measurements
Photos of each shirt laying flat on a table
A photo of the tag
The shirts are already folded and packaged and ready to ship.
This would require me to...
Unpack and unfold each shirt
Take measurements of each shirt
Do another photo shoot of each shirt
Re-fold and re-pack each shirt
Just how I wanted to spend labor day ... laboring. 😉
foster9
·3 weeks agoMaybe check out potential buyers profile, purchase history/feedback. If they are a power buyer than maybe it would be worth it.
bashort
·3 weeks agoThat would not be to much trouble for me for a guaranteed sale, absolutely to much for a possible sale.
kandf_vintage_finds
·3 weeks agoI wouldn't even respond to this message. 9 out of 10 times you go to all that trouble and then crickets.
sfau
·3 weeks agoI would pay my kid $5 to do it and then call it a day....
sreu3058
·3 weeks ago · EditedO
How about unpacking your sealed addressed parcel ready for tomorrow’s mail so you can photo it next to an another item you have for sale and sending the picture so they can compare?
I got that question today.
I said ‘No.’
P.S.
All my listings have video, inside light, and an outside light picture.
fm2000
·3 weeks agoNormally, you should include measurements and a picture of the tag, but if they are in a factory sealed bag, I can understand not wanting to open it. You also have a size chart and the size indicated, so you do technically have measurements. If you have unsealed ones, might be a good idea to take some and double check the measurements to make sure T&Cs size charts (and manufacturing tolerances) are reasonably accurate. They probably are, but not a bad idea to double check.
If they are unsealed... for $50 I would take them and just measure them to double check. Was the customer nice? Personally I don't block people for asking questions, I do block people if I don't like their tone. "Give me measurements or I might return it" would get blocked, "Hello, I have had issues with their clothing not being size accurate, can you please double check the measurements? I just want to make sure it will fit. Thanks so much!" would not get blocked.
adamcartwright
·3 weeks agoI have had sellers refuse to give me measurements, on the grounds that "it's already packed away and stored off-site."
But I won't buy clothing without measurements.
The strangest sellers are those who both refuse to include measurements and have a "no returns" policy.
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks agoThis was the deal breaker IMO. I do not trust that you have the items and will ship them.
I would block this "high maintenance" buyer. His ilk is not welcome to become one of my customers.
No reason for any lack of courtesy on my part, or an explanation. No reason for any engagement.
I remember some merchants in NYC when I was a kid, who required a customer be "buzzed into" their store. If they did not like looks of the potential customer, they would not buzz him in.
It was obvious, and the visual impact the customer made might have triggered character flaws in store owner. Evaluating the customer's words is more objective and less in your face. And if you want to make gestures and mouth something while you block, no one will be the wiser.
sin-n-dex
·3 weeks agoIf I had a quantity of an item, I would have unpacked one to take a whole bunch of great photos of it with details for the listing. I haven't seen your listing, but we had a similar item that came from the Australian Mint. It was a sealed "dinosaur egg" with coins, card, a toy, and stuff inside. I gifted one to my 5 year old step-granddaughter to unpack so I could take pictures of the items inside. Then I stated in the listing what they will receive is sealed, we just opened one to get a good look at what is there. (Unfortunately for all that effort I didn't sell any on eBay, but I did bring them into the shop and they were able to sell them for me to recover my investment).
inhawaii
OP3 weeks agoThese are called "T&C" shirts.
I have about 20 listed but they are mostly singles.
sin-n-dex
·3 weeks agoI'm usually OK with unpacking one of something for photos (and making that the last one I sell, as an opened item). I don't know what a T&C shirt is, but I am not up on the latest fashion.
To answer your question, I would totally accommodate the buyer so long as his request doesn't ask me to to do something that will damage the item and make it unsellable to someone else.
nyr134
·3 weeks agoI will echo most of the responses that you already received. And add: that is what we are here for. I am retired and I’m not tending to crying babies preventing me from spending perhaps half an hour satisfying a request like this. I am not certain, but perhaps that is your situation, also. If you are mobile enough today and pain-free, it’s to your benefit; as another stated, if this buyer doesn’t purchase it, that information will help you make the sale to someone else. It will also perhaps avert a return request because it was too tight or too long, etc.
luckythewinner
·3 weeks ago · EditedSo he is asking for things that many clothing sellers do in every listing? 😉
You are not obligated to do anything. Just block him for daring to ask a question!
mam98031
·3 weeks ago@inhawaii What aren't the measurements and pics already in the listing. Seems like pretty regular info the buyer is asking for. If I were the buyer, I might be asking for the same info, so I understand.
Now unlike this potential buyer I've had a couple messages from recently. Apparently they are a bit challenged when it comes to reading a listing, because everything they have asked about is stated in the listing, multiple times I might add.
gurlcat
·3 weeks ago · EditedAre these in manufacturer packaging like 'Fruit of the Loom' or something similar? If so, I absolutely wouldn't open those.
But if you mean you already folded and packed the shirts, I think the request is reasonable. But more to the point, you should do those measurements (and photograph them) AND take a closeup photo of all tags, for every garment listing. I always did when I sold clothing, because it really doesn't add much time, once you get on a roll with it.
There are buyers who won't even consider garments without those details shown, and others who'll trust the manufacturer size you stated, but then do a return if the garment doesn't fit (or fit WELL, which is why stores offer fitting rooms, but we can't offer that).
inhawaii
OP3 weeks ago@gurlcat you're absolutely right, but the fact is ... i'm lazy. I'm not about to to that for each and every shirt.
Here is the shirt I am selling.
This is the size.
This is what the material is.
This is what the front and the back looks like.
This is a sizing chart from the shirt manufacturer.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoWell apparently eBay considers it a seller's right to be lazy in this regard, or measurements would be required item specifics, as would tag info. And believe it or not I value laziness very much, but I also dislike having to decide whether to entertain buyers' requests like this one you're encountering (and I was encountering, before I started including those photos).
This also pertains to store size, why the 'biggest' I have ever grown to was 170 listings (I think). I tend to lean more on listing quality over quantity, but both are valid pursuits.
jameshen1
·3 weeks agoYou probably don't want to hear this, but your description should have already had the measurements and tag picture to begin with in my opinion.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks agoYou're right. ... but in my defense, the listings do have a size chart and I purposely don't take picture of the label because the price is on it. Sold literally hundreds of these shirts without any returns or size issues.
I wrote the guy back and apologized. I said I would normally do this for you but because I am confined to a hospital bed I'm just not going to do it at this time.
puremichigand
·3 weeks agoIf you have sold hundreds of these shirts, all the more reason to not indulge such a request. Guys that ask for measurements are high-maintenance buyers.
Heck, I'd think any guy that asks for measurements is on the husky side, and not by a little. He's worried about it fitting. It probably won't be flattering, so he's going to not like the way he looks in it, leading to a return.
chapeau-noir
·3 weeks agoNone of that is really necessarily true. My partner needs measurements and he's definitely not (1) Husky or (2) High maintenance. He's just not going to waste his time on things that may/may not fit. Men's sizing isn't particularly consistent.
puremichigand
·3 weeks ago · EditedOf course, not every single guy that asks for measurements is going to be on the husky side of things. Truth is the larger sizes are problematic. I actually did some work for Mike Jefferies back in his day at Abercrombie and Fitch. He taught me a lot about the psychology of the people that wore certain sizes and why we wouldn’t even want to stock some of them. Even when did, we would keep them in the back.
chapeau-noir
·3 weeks ago · EditedThat is interesting about Abercrombie - seems they serve a pretty specific sector, though. Women tend to just put up with it and it's a huge disservice to them not to stock the larger sizes on the floor - though too many wearing size large and up rip the size tags out. :-/ I've sold mostly men's athletic clothing these days - they like measurements due to size variability. I wish people would just grow up about this stuff - be the size you are and have pride in yourself, and take some responsibility for making sure clothing fits - mom isn't gonna do it for them.
puremichigand
·3 weeks agoRight or wrong, the disservice was intentional. Mike didn’t want certain customers, and the idea was to make it uncomfortable and a hassle to get a larger size.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks ago · EditedI totally understand sizing inconsistencies.
When I buy shirts I buy "my" size and realize that it may be too small, it may be too big or it may be right on the money. I never ask for measurements. I wouldn't even know what my measurements are. Measurement would mean absolutely nothing to me. I guess I could be wrong, but I assume MOST men are like me and buy by size and not by measurements.
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks agoYeah, I doubt most of us men know any relevant measurements. I know what sizes of pants and shirts usually fit, but if you gave me measurements, I likely wouldn't even be certain of how to check my own to compare.
tools*
·3 weeks agoMy experience is the opposite of what you imagine. I wear a true regular-length medium, and t-shirts labeled medium tend to be oversized and/or too long; sized like a large and a length appropriate for someone who is 6' 6" rather than 5' 7".
This is why I wouldn't buy a t-shirt on eBay.
chapeau-noir
·3 weeks agoA lot depends on the company - I have some women's size large T shirts that I can barely get in to (I'm an 8/10). Other size larges look like I'm wearing pajamas lol.
My partner is regular average size guy but gets his T shirts from bike events, so generally they're utilitarian and fit, though he has a few that look like he could put a second self in them.
sin-n-dex
·3 weeks agoI have prices on my banknotes, but I white them out with a photo editor before posting. I do the same with price tags on the coins. That ways if the coin doesn't sell I can return it to the store in sellable condition without making them do the work again of looking it up and pricing it. But I satisfy the eBay requirement of no price information shown in the listings for coins.
puremichigand
·3 weeks agoThe problem is not in doing that work for $50, but in doing that work for a chance at a $50 sale. I get similar requests on occasion - the vast majority don't follow through with a purchase.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoYou're right that it's not rare for buyers to not buy after having questions answered, but in this case taking the photos wouldn't be for nothing, because he could add those photos to the listings and give them a better chance at selling to someone else.
sin-n-dex
·3 weeks agoThe buyer won't buy if the answered question is not the answer they are looking for, but when I've had to deep dive on an item to get more information, I've put the information in the listing for future buyers.